by Nikki Duncan
Victor greeted Brad, the security guard on duty at the front desk, like he did every Monday morning, and walked to the elevators. As he stood before the elevators, though, he grew less concerned with getting upstairs to his office and more curious about the women down the hall in Tulle and Tulips.
For over a year he’d worked upstairs at Blue Chip Technologies with Trevor. He knew about the wedding planning business on the first level and the connection, but not being one for socialization he’d never met any of them beyond Lori. Now, after one favor for his sister, he was curious about them.
More accurately, he was curious about one woman. Darci.
She’d slammed into his life, into his mind, with unrelenting force. The opportunity to speak to her again hadn’t presented itself, but neither had he sought one out.
Temptation boiled hotter in his veins every time he’d met her gaze at Saturday’s show. Had he given in to the desire to talk to her, the urge to touch her would turn into need. The sensation, the reality, was a distraction he hadn’t allowed in years.
“Victor.” Trevor pulled his attention as he approached with an insightful grin. “You going up, or is there something more interesting holding your attention today?”
Victor shook off the thoughts of Darci, or at least nudged them back a little as he scanned his ID card and coded in for the top floor. “What could be more interesting than the OSO1 program?”
“Only a woman.”
“No woman will interfere with that contract.” Victor embraced the reminder of the work still to come as he stepped into the elevator with Trevor. In the role of project lead, OSO1 was Victor’s biggest contract since joining Trevor’s team, and he would not fail. He’d wanted to name it Slitheen, after one of the aliens in Dr. Who, but Trevor had little sense of humor when it came to government contracts.
“You underestimate the power of a woman.”
“No, but I have a sister who’s helped me build an immunity.” Though an apparently weak one, judging by how easily Lindy had talked him into the show and how thoroughly Darci derailed his attempts at working.
“Women were created for the express purpose of sidetracking us, and as much as I love Lori, she was the inspiration for OSO1.”
“Does she know that?”
“Yes, she knows.” Trevor’s grin turned from insightful to smugly knowing. “And believe me when I say Lori appreciates being the inspiration of a program that helps keep spies and special forces operatives safe.”
“I thought working for you would be predictable.”
“Even our in-house security lacks predictability. Jace can tell you all kinds of stories.”
“I may ask for some,” Victor said as the elevator doors opened. “For now, I’ll just stick to the pure predictability that is code.”
Trevor laughed boisterously while he and Victor stepped out. “I like that you think those women in Tulle and Tulips are finished with you.”
Victor had heard rumors of how the Tulle and Tulips women liked to play matchmaker. When he’d approached Lori about the dress, she’d slipped Darci’s name into the conversation, but no one else’s. Was it really coincidental that Trevor was mentioning the women now?
Victor was still puzzling it out when he approached his office where Katie, his assistant and Lindy’s best friend, stood with a coffee cup in hand. “Mornin’, Boss.”
“Katie.” He took the cup she extended and walked into his office with her following. The desk had been littered with files, Post-it notes and computer chips when he left eight hours ago. The files were gone, no doubt in the drawers. The Post-its were in the trash, but he knew she’d have put them into his calendar with reminders. The computer chips were tidily arranged on the buffet behind his desk. “You cleaned again.”
“You left a mess again. Do you ever take a weekend off?”
“No.” She was always straightening the chaos of his desk, which made him appreciate, every day, the decision to hire her.
“The lead developer wants to meet with you ASAP about a virus he’s struggling with. You have a ten thirty with the OSO1 team. Your sister has a dress fitting at eleven thirty and has asked if you could join her.”
“I saw her in the dress Saturday. Looked fitted to me,” he said with his mind already moving to the next steps in developing the spy drone with atmospheric camouflage.
“It needs some tweaks and she’s picking out the accessories today.”
“I could help her accessorize if she wanted to dress like a comic book character, but the girly stuff...that’s never been my thing. I’ll call her, though.”
Katie’s habitual laughing headshake came as no surprise. It was her reaction every time she disagreed with something she saw as obvious. “She just wants you to be involved and to know the wedding planners.”
Just. Nothing with Lindy or Katie was ever just. “Eleven thirty?”
“Yes.” Katie almost bounced in place, always perky, so much like his sister. “Are you gonna go?”
Dropping into his chair, he grumbled about not knowing anything about accessories. “Tell me something, Katie.”
“Anything.”
“Is she trying to set me up?”
“Would it work if she was?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
“So this has nothing to do with her wanting me to have a date for her wedding?”
“Is it so wrong for her to want to see you happy?” she asked, backing to the door.
“Katie.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re a horrible liar. I should never have hired you.”
“You know you love me, and you’d be lost without me.” She sailed out of his office with a flip of her long curls. He’d almost not hired her when his first assistant retired, but he knew Katie to be loyal and reliable. She’d proven to also be obsessively efficient and unafraid of the need to roll him away from a computer screen.
Both traits were invaluable when he got sucked into whatever he was coding. His next project should be an early meddling alarm, because every instinct said he’d been trapped from the moment he slipped on his tuxedo Saturday night. Probably earlier.
Katie was married. Lindy was soon to be. They were firmly entrenched in the belief that he needed a partner. Nothing would convince them he was happiest in his solitude.
Chapter Three
“Let me buy this for you.”
“No. Jeffrey and I are paying for the wedding ourselves.”
“It’s typical for the bride’s family to pay for the wedding. I want to help.”
“Her parents. You’re not my father.”
“No. But he would have wanted to pay. I love you and want you to have everything you want.”
Darci packed up the jewels Lindy had decided against while Victor tried to win his argument. With a quiet, “I’ll be right back,” she left them to their discussion as she carried all the jewels but the ones being debated to the vault.
He was already paying for Lindy’s wedding planning fees, though she didn’t know it, and he’d covered a chunk of the dress. His love was obvious, but Darci couldn’t help wondering if he wasn’t taking things a little far. How would Lindy feel if she found out what he’d done?
“Save the money for your own wedding,” Lindy was saying when Darci returned to her office from the back room where her vault was.
“I’m not dating anyone,” Victor argued. “Why would I be worried about a wedding?”
“Because your day will come.”
“It’s not here yet. Until then, you can make me happy by allowing me to buy that necklace and earrings.”
“It’s too much.”
“It’s what you want.”
“I’ll probably never wear it again.”
“The same goes for the dress, but you women still seem to want the dream.” He pulled his credit card out of his wallet and passed it to Darci.
“Because it’s our big day.”
“Then it’s settled.” H
e grinned with triumph.
If he was taking things too far, and if Lindy found out, she would only put up a token argument that Victor would quickly slice through. It wasn’t often Darci saw a man maneuver a woman so expertly; it was normally the other way around. Damn if it wasn’t sweeter than hearing how he’d schemed with Lori.
“Damn it.” Lindy exhaled in a heavy huff. “How do you do that?”
He kissed her knuckles and winked. “Because you’re blinded by your love for me.”
Darci ran the card before either of them could change their mind. “And you’re merciless in your willingness to use it against me.”
“I will not feel bad for that.” He took the card from Darci and signed the slip. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll find places and times to wear the jewels again.”
“Will you at least let me buy you lunch? Katie said you had time.”
“Sure.”
“Darci,” Lindy said, beaming. “You should come too.”
Victor’s eyes bugged, clearly trapped. Lori’s urging sprang to mind and had Darci feeling the same way. “I would…”
“Good.”
“But I have a lunch meeting.” Lindy’s face fell. Darci felt guilty, which was irrational but it was what it was. She didn’t have to agree to a setup just because she liked a man’s sister. “Another time, though.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.” A narrow escape counted as a success in Darci’s book, and dodging Lindy certainly fell into the narrow category. The girl was an angel everyone wanted to please, but that did not extend to dating her brother. He’d just paid the bill. He was officially a customer.
Case closed, she told herself as she walked them back to reception. With each step Lindy petted the string handle of her bag like it was a favored pet.
“Thank you, Darci.” Lindy pulled her into a rib-squeezing hug and held on for a few seconds longer than Darci normally allowed. Any hug was longer than Darci liked until she really got to know someone.
When Lindy pulled back, Darci covered her breath of relief with a smile and turned toward Victor. Looking at his extended hand, she wondered if his touch would shock her like it had every other time.
Victor slid his palm along hers, wrapped his fingers around her hand. The initial spark came and went, and in its wake rested the sensation of an intimate caress. A casual touch from a man she didn’t know shouldn’t hold so much power, but his did.
“We appreciate your help,” he said and then retracted his hand. “Have a good day.”
“Enjoy your lunch.”
“Darci.” Lori called, stepping out of her office. “I need to cancel our lunch.”
Darci winced. Victor flinched. Lindy squeaked. “Now you’re free.”
Darci looked at Lindy with a new rejection on her tongue, yet her heart had her holding back. The young woman standing before her with hope in her sparkling green eyes wanted nothing more than happiness. For herself, but also for the people around her. It was a sentiment Darci respected and one she couldn’t damage.
“Seems so.”
“How does Mexican sound? It’s one of Victor’s faves.”
“Sounds great.”
Victor’s gaze held apology and appreciation, though he didn’t offer an escape. “I’ll get the car and meet you ladies out front.”
Darci rubbed her fingers over her palm that still simmered from his touch. Sitting through lunch with him, watching him with Lindy, she’d be the awkward third wheel. More than siblings, they were friends, and they’d stand together no matter what was thrown their way.
“Lindy.” Lori spoke in that no-nonsense sweet tone of hers that always had people agreeing. “Could I borrow Darci for a moment?”
“Of course. I’ll just be out front waiting for Victor.”
As soon as Lindy was out of earshot, Darci turned to Lori. “What are you up to?”
“What makes you think I’m up to something?”
“You’re answering a question with a question. You sound guilty doing it. You’ve found a way to work Victor into conversation at least once a day since Saturday night.” She narrowed her gaze on her friend. “Would you like me to continue?”
“Not all men are like Doyle. You feel something when you’re near Victor. I only want you to see what it is.”
“Doyle was an ass.” And she’d never regretted leaving him so soon before their wedding. “You and Lindy got together on this, didn’t you?”
Darci accepted the afternoon Fate had delivered as she grabbed her purse from her office. Denial that she felt something around Victor was a waste of energy, at least with herself. By the time she reached the sidewalk out front she was almost looking forward to lunch. Then she saw Victor sitting in his white Mercedes Benz with the windows down.
Darci opened the door and slid into the front seat, noticing the empty back seat.
“Is Lindy meeting us there?” she asked as she nudged empty Starbucks cups aside with her feet.
“She got a better offer from her fiancé.”
“So it’s just you and me.” A coating of dog hair glinted in the sunlight striking the dash and made her glad they kept lint rollers in the offices. For a man who’d looked so stunning in a tuxedo and seemed so put together, she’d never have guessed he was such a slob.
“Seems so.”
“You know we’re being set up, right?” Darci asked.
“Seems so.”
“Do you have an opinion on that?” Conversation came easily to Victor, or at least it seemed to when he was with his sister, though his short answers suggested differently.
“You mean do I think people should mind their own business, or that it’s crazy to think everyone needs to be paired up like the world is one big ark?” He signaled for a turn, sending her a quick smile as he did. “I have a lot of opinions.”
“Me too.”
“Like?”
“People who claim to be your friends should listen when you say you don’t want something.”
“Well, at least I know where I stand.” He pulled into a parking spot in front of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and turned off the car. “Guess I should appreciate the honesty.”
“It’s not like that. It has nothing to do with you.”
“That’s original.”
“What?” she asked as they got out of the car and headed to the restaurant.
“‘It’s not you, it’s me’. That line is normally a lie saved for the end of a relationship.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that and use it again later,” Darci promised.
“I’m not much on people, but even I don’t tend to begin things with the end in sight.”
She chuckled as she slid into the booth he’d chosen. He was fun, and she didn’t feel the need to choose her words to avoid saying the wrong thing. It was a nice change of pace. “What’s wrong with people?”
“They’re predictably greedy, charge in where they don’t belong, fail to respect the difference between right and wrong…” He shrugged. “I could go on.”
“You’re cynical.”
“Realistic. People suck.”
It didn’t compute that he’d feel so strongly and still show the kindness she’d seen in him. “Cynical loner with a generous heart. I’ve got to say, that’s not what I’d have expected to learn about you over lunch.”
Their waitress arrived with menus. She took their drink orders and promised to be right back. As she left, Victor returned to the conversation as if there’d been no break. “I’ve heard soul-deep revelations belong somewhere below past lovers on the topics-to-avoid list. At least until the second meal.”
Was he suggesting they have a second date? Could being stood up by Lindy even be called a date? Did she want it to be? Uncertainty shook her hand. “Unless you want to advertise why you hate people.”
“Hate’s a strong word.”
She nodded. “You just don’t want to be around anyone?”
“Exactly.” He waved his hand w
ith the excitement of finally getting the point across to someone.
The chuckle escaped unbidden. She’d react the same way if she ever felt like she made the same point to her mother. If she managed to win the argument about her marital status she’d do a hell of a lot more than wave her hands in a silent hallelujah.
“Let me guess, you work out of your home and only talk to your dog unless Lindy’s involved.”
“Groot is great company,” he insisted as the waitress set their drinks on the table. They placed their orders, which Victor insisted go on one check, and again resumed their conversation without a beat when the waitress walked away.
“You don’t have to buy my lunch, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for not arguing.”
After watching him with Lindy she wasn’t sure there’d have been a point. “So, you named your dog Groot? Like, from the Guardians of the Galaxy comics?”
He shrugged.
“No wonder you don’t like people.” She laughed full out. “You advertise how big of a geek you are, making everyone else feel moronic. It’s more likely they don’t want to compete.”
“You have some geek in you, or you wouldn’t know who Groot is.”
“Did you think I only cared about shiny baubles?”
“Lindy did introduce you as the Bunny of Bling.”
“Yet, she’s never talked about you to say anything more than you’re her brother.” She took a drink of her Dr. Pepper, looking at him over the straw. “So what do you do?”
“I work at Blue Chip Technologies.”
“For Trevor?” That explained why Lori had so willingly gotten on the bandwagon of pushing them together. She had an inside track. “Doing what?”
“Manager of program development. I oversee the development of new programs. It would suck if I didn’t get to do a fair amount of development myself.”
“You’re more than just a comic book geek. At least you don’t always hide out at home.”
A small smile awakened a dimple in his left cheek as he patted her hand. “Even we geeks have to get out at some point.”
The same spark that had struck every other time coursed over the back of her hand, making it difficult to focus on the humor he intended. Lori had asked her to see why he was appealing. The more time Darci spent in his company, the more she liked him.
